Daily Critical Care?

[Squid's Mom]

Hi! I'm new to the forum and I have an 8 week old guinea pig named Squid. He had a rough entry into my life as I got him and his brother, Triscuit, from Petco only to have Triscuit cough up blood and die 4 days later. Needless to say Squid was rushed to the vet soon after and was treated for a URI. He seems chipper now, fingers crossed, and we have a follow up appointment in a couple weeks. But in the process of treating Squid for his URI, he got hooked on Critical Care and now loves to drink it out of his treat dish. He's a little finicky about drinking his water and eating his vitamin C. He always does both but sometimes he'll drink out of his bottle, sometimes out of a dish. We always provide him with both to let him choose since he's picky.

Since critical care is a good source for nutrients and vitamin C and it can be mixed with a good amount of water, I have been allowing him to have sips of it from a bowl as a treat a couple times a day. He loves it and it makes me feel better knowing he's getting extra nutrients and water, even though he eats his hay and greens (he's resistant to bell pepper). Is it okay to feed him critical care in small watered down amounts every day even though it's intended to be an emergency thing? He enjoys it so much and gives loud needy squeaks when I don't give him any.

Thank you!

 

[Piggies&buns]

and I’m sorry to hear you lost Triscuit.

Does he still need the critical care or is he better and eating enough hay to maintain his weight himself? Hay is the main part of their diet.

If he is better and no longer needs the critical care and is independently eating enough hay, then I would simply stop giving the critical care. It’s not going to harm him to keep having it though but once there isnt a need for it, then you want to encourage a lot of hay intake.
They also get water from their veggies. The amount each piggy drinks varies widely but a piggy who is getting plenty of water from another source ie from food such as veggies will not feel the need to drink a lot from bottles or bowls.
Continue to monitor his weight daily so you can be sure he really is eating enough hay. Once you are sure his weight is stable/gaining then you can switch back to the routine and lifelong weekly weight checks.

Hay is 80% of the daily food intake, veggies is one cup per day (15% of the daily intake) and then one tablespoon of pellets per pig per day. This provides everything they need for all nutrients. Once he is over his illness, he doesn’t need additional vitamin c supplemented to him (if that is what you mean by ‘eating his vitamin c’). Vit c should only be supplemented to them for short periods to boost the immune system during an illness. Otherwise, they get enough vitamin c from their their balanced diet of hay and veggies. Normal pellets are also fortified with vitamin c.
Too much vitamin c in excess of normal levels isn’t a good thing - at best it is simply a waste as excess vit c is excreted in the urine but at worst it can cause their system to become used to abnormally high amounts which can cause scurvy if the levels drop even if they would otherwise be considered normal levels for any other piggy.

 

[Bill & Ted]

Poor little Squid, hope he has made a full recovery. Now is the time to definetly start weening him off it. So by the end of the week he’s not getting it. He needs to be eating hay, as above this should be 80% of his diet. It’s essential to keep his teeth worn down and his gut in good working order.
Squid really needs to learn from another piggie what he should be eating, as he has had such a rough start in life, loosing his friend. Is there any rescues nearby who could bond him with another piggie so he can learn what he should be eating and have a new companion x
So sorry you lost your other little man x

 

[Squid's Mom]

and I’m sorry to hear you lost Triscuit.

Does he still need the critical care or is he better and eating enough hay to maintain his weight himself? Hay is the main part of their diet.

If he is better and no longer needs the critical care and is independently eating enough hay, then I would simply stop giving the critical care. It’s not going to harm him to keep having it though but once there isnt a need for it, then you want to encourage a lot of hay intake.
They also get water from their veggies. The amount each piggy drinks varies widely but a piggy who is getting plenty of water from another source ie from food such as veggies will not feel the need to drink a lot from bottles or bowls.
Continue to monitor his weight daily so you can be sure he really is eating enough hay. Once you are sure his weight is stable/gaining then you can switch back to the routine and lifelong weekly weight checks.

Hay is 80% of the daily food intake, veggies is one cup per day (15% of the daily intake) and then one tablespoon of pellets per pig per day. This provides everything they need for all nutrients. Once he is over his illness, he doesn’t need additional vitamin c supplemented to him (if that is what you mean by ‘eating his vitamin c’). Vit c should only be supplemented to them for short periods to boost the immune system during an illness. Otherwise, they get enough vitamin c from their their balanced diet of hay and veggies. Normal pellets are also fortified with vitamin c.
Too much vitamin c in excess of normal levels isn’t a good thing - at best it is simply a waste as excess vit c is excreted in the urine but at worst it can cause their system to become used to abnormally high amounts which can cause scurvy if the levels drop even if they would otherwise be considered normal levels for any other piggy.

Thank you so much! He's eating his hay and everything very well so I will stop the critical care. We're weighing him daily and he's steadily gaining so hopefully once we stop the critical care he'll continue to grow!

 

[Squid's Mom]

Poor little Squid, hope he has made a full recovery. Now is the time to definetly start weening him off it. So by the end of the week he’s not getting it. He needs to be eating hay, as above this should be 80% of his diet. It’s essential to keep his teeth worn down and his gut in good working order.
Squid really needs to learn from another piggie what he should be eating, as he has had such a rough start in life, loosing his friend. Is there any rescues nearby who could bond him with another piggie so he can learn what he should be eating and have a new companion x
So sorry you lost your other little man x

Thank you so much! I'll definitely keep an eye out for other piggies. He eats well on his own and everything but I don't want him to be lonely. Once we get the all clear from the vet, I'll start looking at nearby rescues